Circuit controller



Aug. 9, 1960 H. v. ELLIOTT ETAL 2,948,792

CIRCUIT CONTROLLER Filed Sept. 15, 1958 INVENTORS B Mara in 71' Gar/5m The/r Af/Wfwy United States Patent CIRCUIT CONTROLLER Harold V. Elliott and Marvin T. Carlson, Anderson, Int l., assignors to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 15, 1958, Ser. No. 761,110

11 Claims. (Cl. 200- 156) This invention relates to circuit controllers, and more particularly to a circuit controller that is adapted to control a pair of electric circuits, one of which is only momentarily completed, and the other of which is closed simultaneously with the completing of the first circuit. The switch of this invention is an improvement of the switch structure disclosed in copending application S.N. 709,056, filed January 15, 1958, now Pat. No. 2,905,962, September 29, 1959, and assigned to the assignee of this invention.

In the switch of the above identified copending application, a reciprocable and rotatable rod has a twisted portion which engages cam portions on a fixed member to cause rotation of the plunger or rod. The rod operates to momentarily complete a circuit through the switch when it is moved in one direction, and also rotates a contact plate to complete a second electric circuit through the switch.

In contrast to the switch structure of the above identified copending application, it is an object of this invention to provide a switch of the type wherein the rod or plunger is not twisted, but is formed as a cylinder that carries a pin member that is in turn engageable with a fixed cam surface for causing rotation of the rod and pin member, the pin member also serving to rotatably drive a contact plate of the switch and the rod serving to momentarily close a circuit through the switch.

A more specific object of this invention is to provide a switch structure that includes a housing and a rotatable driver member that drives a contact plate and which is manually actuable to various positions, the housing having a cam surface which is engaged by a pin carried by a rod that is positioned within the driver member, and wherein the pin serves to drive the driver member when the rod is moved inwardly.

Another object of this invention is to provide a switch that includes a reciprocable plunger member having a pointed end that shorts a pair of spaced contacts mounted on an insulator member, the insulator member having a boss or projection that positively guides the end of the plunger into engagement with the contacts. The contacts and boss are located at spaced points which if connected would form a triangle, and the end of the plunger is moved to engage the contacts and boss at the center of the triangle.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred embodiment of the present invention is clearly shown.

'In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a sectional view of an electric switch made in accordance with this invention.

Figure 2 is a view taken along line 22 of Figure 1 and illustrating the use of the switch of this invention in an electric circuit.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along line 33 of Figure 1.

Patented Aug. 9, 1960 Figure 4 is an end view of the switch shown in Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional View of the housing of the switch taken along line 66 of Figure 5 and illustrating the helical cam surface of the housing.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to Figure 1, the electric switch of this invention includes an insulator member 16 formed of suitable insulating material that carries a plurality of electrical contacts 12, 14, and 16. The contact 12 takes the form of a rivet which also serves to support a connector 18, as is better illustrated in Figure 4. The contact 14, in a like manner, takes the form of a rivet which supports a connector 29, and similarly the contact 16 takes the form of a rivet which supports connector 22. The connectors 18, Zil, and 22, as is well known to those skilled in the art, form the male part of an electrical connector that is adapted to be inserted within a mating female part not shown. The contact 14 supports a connector member 24 which carries an electrical contact 26. The connector part 24 is preferably positioned within a recess formed in the inner face of the insulator member 19. This recess joins a cylindrical recess 28, and the contact 16 is also positioned within a recess that communicates with recess 23. A boss or projection 30 is positioned within the recess 28, and it is to be particularly noted that the boss Stl and contacts 16 and 26 are located so that if they were connected, they would form the corners of a triangle. The boss 39 is formed integral with the insulator body 10 and serves to move a movable contact member into positive engagement with contacts 16 and 26, as will become more readily apparent hereinafter.

The insulator member it) is supported by a metal housing generally designated by reference numeral 32, and having axially extending tab portions 35 which are bent over the insulator body 10, as is better illustrated in Figure 4. The axially extending tab portions 35 of the housing 32 thus serve to hold the insulator body in fixed relationship with the housing 32. The housing 32, as is best illustrated in Figure 1, is hollow and has three different inner diameters as is clearly apparent from the drawings.

Positioned partly within the housing 32 is a driver member generally designated by reference numeral 34 which is formed of a metal such as die cast zinc. The driver member has a first central opening 36 that communicates with a second central opening 38 of lesser diameter. The central opening 36 is in communication with an axially extending slot which is illustrated in Figures 1 and 5. The driver member 34 further includes a pair of arcuately extending portions 42 and 44 which pass through apertures formed in a contact plate that is generally designated by reference numeral 46. The driver member has a circumfereutially extending flange 48 which engages a wall 59 of the housing 32. The driver member is generally cylindrically shaped at 52 and has a pair of hexagonal sections 54 and 56. The cylindrical portion 52 fits within a cylindrical portion of the housing 32, and the driver member is thus rotatably supported by the housing 32. The driver member 34 carries an actuating knob 57 which is held to the driver member by a set screw 58.

The contact plate 46 is rotatable with the driver member 34 and has a pair of projecting contacts 60 and 61 formed integral therewith and extending therefrom. The contact plate is preferably formed of brass or other metal material and has a detent projection 63. The detent projection 63 engages within depressions 54, 65, and 66 formed in the insulator block 10 as is best illus the cylindrical opening 38 of the driver member.

trated in Figure 2. As has been noted hereinbefore, the contact plate 56 has arcuately extending apertures 67 and 68 which respectively receive the arcuately extending portions 42 and 44 of the driver member. It is noted that the arcuately extending portions 42 and 44 are of different lengths so that it is impossible to assemble the contact plate to the driver member in a wrong position.

The contact plate 46 is slidable on projections 42 and 44 and is urged into engagement with the contacts 12, 14, and 16 and the inner face of insulator by a spring 70 which is positioned between the contact plate 46 and the circumferentially extending flange 48 on the driver member.

Positioned within the driver member 34 is a plunger generally designated by reference numeral 71. The plunger has a cylindrical section 72 that passes through The plunger, in addition, has a larger diameter portion 73 which fits within the larger diameter portion 36 of the driver member. The plunger 71 has a pointed end 73a which passes through a central opening 74 formed in the contact plate 46. A spring 75 is positioned between the larger diameter portion 73 of the plunger and the rotatable contact plate 46. This spring normally urges the plunger to its position shown in Figure 1, and the plunger is connected with a push button 76 which is adapted to be manually depressed and which fits within the actuating knob 57. The pointed end 73a of the plunger 71 will engage contacts 26 and 16 and the boss 30 when it is fully depressed. The boss and the two contacts will thus serve as a three-point positioning means for the end of the plunger, and the boss 30 will insure positive engagement of the contacts 16 and 26 by the end of the plunger. The plunger 71, as is best illustrated in Figure 1, carries a pin 80 which is positioned within a hole formed in the larger diameter portion of the plunger and which passes through slot 40 formed in driver mem ber 34.

The housing 32 of the electric switch, as is better illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, is formed with a helical cam surface 82. The helical cam surface connects a pair of surfaces 83 and 84. The helical cam surface 82 is positioned to be engaged by the pin 80 when the plunger 71 is depressed. The surface 83 engages the pin 80 when the plunger 71 is moved to its furtherest counterclockwise position as viewed in Figure 5. Thus when the plunger 71 is in such a position that the pin 80 engages surface 83, the depressing inwardly of the plunger will cause the pin 80 to ride up on the helical cam surface 82 to cause a rotation of the plunger 71 during the time that it is being depressed. The housing is formed with another surface 86, which limits the movement of the pin 89 in a clockwise direction as viewed from Figure 5. When the pin is being moved between surface 84 and surface 86, there is of course no impediment to its movement.

In the normal ofi position of the switch, the detent projection 63 is engaged within depression 64 of the insulator body, and the contact 61 is in engagement with contact 12 on the insulator body. In this position, the contact 60 does not engage any of the fixed contacts on the insulator body 11), and the pin 80 will be located on or adjacent the surface 83 on housing 32. As the knob 57 is now grasped, and the driver member 34 rotated clockwise in Figure 5, the detent projection 63 will snap into depression 65. In this position the contact 60 engages contact 14, and the contact 61 engages contact 12. As the knob 57 is now moved to its fully clockwise position, as viewed in Figure 5, the detent projection 63 will engage with the detent depression 66, and the contact 60 will now be in engagement with contact 14, whereas the contact 60 will be out of engagement with all of the fixed contacts. It can be seen from the foregoing that the contact plate 46 may be manually actuated 4 by rotation of knob 57 to three different positions as dictated by the detent depressions 64, 65, and 66.

If the rod 71 is in its fully counter-clockwise position, as viewed from Figure 5, with the pin engaging surface 83, the depression of plunger 72 will cause the rod to rotate over a predetermined arc. Thus, when the rod or plunger 71 is depressed, it will be rotated by engagement of the pin 80 with the helical cam surface 82. The pin 80, during its rotation, being in engagement with the side walls of slot 40, will also drive the driver member 34 to cause rotation of contact plate 46. The cam surface 82 is of such a length as to cause the contact plate 46 to be rotated to a position wherein contact 60 engages contact 14, and contact 61 engages contact 12 during the time that the rod is being depressed. After full depression of the rod, the pointed end of the rod or plunger 73a engages the contacts 16 and 26 to momentarily complete a circuit between these contacts. It can be seen from the foregoing that depression of the plunger 71 completes a momentary circuit between contacts 16 and 26, and simultaneously with this causes the contact plate 46 to be rotated to a position to short contacts 12 and 14.

The particular switch that has been described is adapted for use with the coordinated washer and wiper control system illustrated in the above identified copending application, although it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the switch is useful in any circuit where it is desired to cause the closure of a circuit momentarily and to simultaneously close another circuit. In order to illustrate the use of the switch in a circuit, a simplified version of a coordinated wiper-washer control system is illustrated in Figure 2. In this figure, a storage battery has one side connected directly to ground and has another side connected with a lead 91. The lead 91 is connected to one side of an electrical load 92 which in this case is an electrical energizable device for causing a washing liquid to be sprayed on a windshield of a motor vehicle, as is more specifically set forth in a copending application. The opposite side of the electric load 92 is connected with contact 16 via a lead 93. A relay coil 94 that operates switch 95 is connected between lead 91 and contact 14. The switch 95 is normally open but will be closed whenever relay actuating coil 94 is energized. The relay actuated switch 95 is connected between lead 91 and the series field winding 96 of an electric motor having an armature 97 and a shunt field winding 98. The armature 97 is connected between junction 99 and ground, whereas the shunt field winding 98 is connected between junctions 99 and 101). The junction is connected with contact 12, and a field circuit resistance 102 is connected between junction 100 and ground. The motor 97, as is more fully set forth in the above identified copending application, is used to drive the wiper blades of a windshield wiping apparatus.

With the foregoing circuit in mind, it will be apparent that when the contact plate 46 is in such a position that detent 63 engages in depression 64, the contact 61 will be engagement with contact 12. It should be noted here that the housing 32 of the electric switch is connected to some metal frame part of the motor vehicle so that it is at ground potential. In view of this, the contact plate 46 is always at ground potential since it is electrically connected with the housing 32 through the spring 70 and driver member 34. The plunger 71 is also always at ground potential, since it is in metal-to-metal contact with the driver member 34, which is in turn in metal-to-metal contact with the housing 32. The spring 75 also elec tn'cally connects plate 46 and plunger 71. Thus, with the contact 61 engaging contact 12, the junction 100 will be connected to ground potential in the 011 position of the switch, and neither the motor nor the washer apparatus will be energized, as is clear from Figure 2. As the contact plate 46 is rotated so that contact 60 engages contact 14, and contact 61 engages contact 12, the motor 97 will be energized in its low speed position as switch 95 will be closed and shunt field winding 98 will be energized through junction 100 and contact 12. As the switch contactor 46 is moved to a position wherein contact 60 engages contact 14, the motor 97 will operate in Its high speed position, as at this time the resistor 102 is inserted in series with the shunt field winding 98 of the 'motor.

moves the switch from an oil position to a low speed position and also completes a circuit for the washer apparatus 92 simultaneously. It will be appreciated, of course, that the contactor 46 must be manually moved by knob 57 back to its ofi position once it has been moved to either its low speed or its high speed position.

While the embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed constitutes a prefered form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A circuit controller comprising, an insulating block carrying a plurality of contacts, a housing, means for securing said housing to said insulating block, a driver member positioned within said housing, a rotatable contactor carried by said driver member and positioned to engage said fixed contacts, a plunger positioned within said driver member, a longitudinally extending slot defined by a pair of walls in said driver member, a cam surface formed integral with said housing, and a pin attached to said plunger and passing through said slot into engagement with said cam surface, said plunger when moved inwardly being adapted to complete an electric circuit between two contacts that are supported by said insulating block, said pin causing said driver member to be driven by contact with said walls.

2. An electric switch comprising, a plurality of fixed contacts, a housing, means supporting said fixed contacts in fixed relationship with said housing, a driver member positioned within said housing, a contactor supported by said driver member and adapted to engage said fixed contacts, a plunger member slidably disposed within said driver member, means forming a slidable connection between said plunger and said driver member including pin means fixed to said plunger whereby said plunger and driver member rotate together, and means formed integral with said housing and contacting said pin means for causing rotation of said plunger and driver members when said plunger member is depressed, said plunger member being adapted to short a pair of switch contacts supported by said housing.

3. An electric switch comprising, an insulator block carrying a pair of contacts, a housing fixed to said insulator block, a plunger slidably disposed within said housing, means for normally holding said plunger in a retracted position, an integral projection extending from said block located in spaced relationship to said pair of contacts, said projection and said contacts being located at points which, if connected, would form a triangle, and said plunger having an end portion that is adapted to contact said pair of contacts and said projection when it is moved inwardly in said housing.

4. An electric switch comprising, an insulator member, a housing secured to said insulator member, a plunger axially movable within said housing toward said insulator member, means for normally holding said plunger in a retracted position away from said insulator member, a pair of contacts supported by said insulator member, an integral projection formed on said insulator member, said 3 projection and said contacts being spaced from each other and positioned to form corners of a triangle, said plunger being located in alignment with the center of said triangle and being adapted to engage both said contacts and said projection when it is depressed.

5. An electric switch comprising, a housing, a rotatable driver member journalled for rotation within said housing, an insulator block carrying a plurality of electrical contacts supported by said housing, a contactor plate secured to said driver member whereby said contactor plate is rotated upon rotation of said driver member, a spring interposed between said driver member and said contactor plate for urging said contactor plate toward said fixed contacts, a plunger slidably disposed within said driver member, means secured to said plunger for forming a slidable connection between said plunger and driver member while causing said plunger and driver member to rotate together, a cam surface on said housing adapted to engage said means when said plunger is at a predetermined rotative position, and a pair of contacts supported by said insulator member and adapted to be engaged by the end of said plunger when it is depressed.

6. An electric switch comprising, a housing, an insulator block carrying a plurality of fixed contacts supported by said housing, a driver member rotatably journalled within said housing and having a longitudinally extending slot, at contact plate secured for rotation to said driver member and engaging said fixed contacts, a helical cam surface on said housing extending circumferentially of said driver member, a pin member secured to said plunger and engaging the side walls of said longitudinally extending slot, said pin member engaging said helical cam whereby said plunger and driver member are rotated when said plunger is moved axially, and a pair of electrical contacts supported by said insulator member and adapted to engage the end of said plunger when it is depressed.

7. A circuit controller comprising, an insulator member carrying a plurality of fixed contacts, a housing fixed to said insulator member, a rotatable dn'ver member journalled for rotation in said housing and having an axially extending slot and a pair of arcuately extending portions, 2. contact plate having a pair of arcuately extending apertures that receive the arcuately extending portions of said driver member, said contact plate being in engagement with said fixed contacts, a plunger slidably disposed within said driver member and having an end portion passing through an aperture formed in said contact plate, a helical cam surface on said housing extending circumferentially of said driver member, a pair of contacts supported by said insulator member and adapted to engage the end of said plunger when it is depressed, and a pin member fixed to said plunger and passing through said axially extending slot to a point where it engages said 'helical cam surface at predetermined rotative positions of said plunger.

8. An electric switch comprising, a housing, an insulator block carrying a plurality of electrical contacts secured to one end of said housing, a driver member having a circumferentially extending flange engaging a circumferentially extending wall portion of said housing, a contact plate slidably secured to said driver member and rotatable therewith, a spring interposed between the circumferentially extending flange of said driver member and said contact plate, an axially extending slot formed in said driver member, a plunger slidably disposed within said driver member and having an end portion that passes through an aperture formed in said contact plate, a pair of electrical contacts supported by said insulator block and adapted to engage the end portion of said plunger, a second spring interposed between said plunger and said contact plate, a cam surface formed integral with said housing and extending circumferentially of said driver member, and a pin fixed to said plunger and engaging the side walls of said axially extending slot, said pin engaging said cam surface at predetermined rotative positions of said plunger and driver member whereby said driver member and plunger are at times rotated when said plunger is depressed.

9. A circuit controller comprising, an insulator block, a plurality of fixed contacts supported by said insulator block, a housing carrying said insulator block, a contact plate positioned within said housing and having contacts that are engageable with said fixed contacts, a spring interposed between said housing and said contact plate for urging said contact plate against said fixed contacts, a hollow rotatable driver member positioned within said housing carrying said contact plate and having a longitudinally extending slot, a plunger carrying a pin positioned within said driver member with the pin extending through said slot into engagement with a cam surface formed on said housing, a pair of contacts on said insulator block that are engaged by said plunger when it is depressed, and a second spring interposed between said contact plate and said plunger for holding said plunger in a retracted position.

10. A circuit controller comprising, a plurality of fixed contacts, a housing for supporting said contacts, a rotatable driver member positioned within said housing and carrying a contact plate that engages said fixed contacts, a cam surface on said housing, a plunger slidably disposed within said housing, a pair of contacts adapted to engage the end of said plunger when it is depressed,

and means extending from said plunger for rotatably driving said driver member and located in engagement with said cam surface during predetermined rotative positions of said plunger, said cam surface being adapted to cause rotation of said plunger and driver member when said plunger isdepressed whereby said contactor is shifted when the end of said plunger moves toward said pair of contacts. a 1

11. A circuit controller comprising, a plurality of fixed contacts, a housing for supporting said contacts, a rotatable driver member positioned within said housingla'nd carrying a contact plate that engages'said fixed contacts, a cam surface on said housing, a plunger slidably disposed within said housing, means extending from said plunger for rotatably driving said driver member and located in engagement with said cam surface during predetermined rotative positions of said plunger, said cam surface being adapted to cause rotation of said plunger and driver member when said plunger is depressed, manually operable means connected with said driver member for rotating the same, and manually operable means connected with said plunger for depressing the same.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

